Starlight Princess
by RukiaGallega
Summary: Modern AU. It starts with a song on the radio. That's all it takes for Allura to remember a past, unrequited crush she thought lost and forgotten long ago. It turns out it wasn't as unrequited as she thought, and not forgotten at all.


**NA** : Story based on those two Reunited AU prompts found on tumblr:

 _"this is so unfair there's this song getting popular and the singer sounds like you and all these lyrics almost sound like they could be about me but you're singing about lost love and you weren't in love with me wait I'm watching the music video and crying and hey that's definitely you wtf" au_

 _"you're famous and just got asked if you were ever in love this should be good– WAIT WHAT" au_

I wanted to do a proper cover, but ended up with just a pencil sketch that looks horrible scanned. Maybe I'll finish it… someday. Well, I hope you enjoy this story.

Starlight Princess

Allura stopped abruptly, mop in hand. Well, that was weird. She had turned the radio on while she cleaned her apartment (it was the last thing she felt like doing a Sunday afternoon, but it was something that needed to be done like, two weeks ago) and the song being broadcasted now sounded oddly familiar. Not because of the lyrics, some generic thing about a lost love, no. What had captured her attention was the male voice of the singer.

She knew that voice. But from where?

Before she remembered though, the song was over. She paid attention to see if she could catch the name of the singer, but it was immediately followed by a different, old song.

Allura shrugged and kept doing her chores. It was just a song, she had probably heard it before somewhere. Nothing to worry about.

That didn't stop her from mull it over for the rest of the day.

Then the next day, while she was stuck on a traffic jam on her way to work, that song started to sound on the radio again. She turned up the volume slightly. Now that she paid more attention, the lyrics felt oddly relatable. And that voice… Why couldn't she remember where she heard it before?

The song ended and the broadcaster announced cheerfully:

"We just heard the newest big hit, _Starlight Princess_ , by young promise Shiro! Now we…"

The broadcaster kept babbling, but Allura didn't listen. All she could think about was that name, _Shiro_ , and that voice. She remembered now why it sounded so familiar. It sounded exactly like Takashi, who had been her best friend at High School, and her secret crush. Also, his surname was Shirogane… Could it be the same person? But wait, Takashi had wanted to become a pilot, and sure, he used to have a nice voice, but how could he had become a singer when he was supposed to be at the Garrison?

A loud honk brought her out of her thoughts. The traffic in front of her was moving. Allura tried to focus on driving her car, mind racing with memories from her teenage years.

Once she was at the office, she buried herself in her work, as she always did, trying to prove she got the job because of her own merits, not because she was the daughter of a famous lawyer. But she couldn't get that song out of her head. Eventually, checking twice that she was alone, she searched the music video in YouTube. It had an insanely high amount of views even though it was posted the previous week.

As the video played, Allura let out a sigh. That couldn't be Takashi, right? She didn't remember him being so… buff. And Takashi didn't have a lock of white hair, nor a scar across his nose, nor…

And then, Shiro looked right at the camera and Allura almost choked in her own breath. Those eyes, that smile… Those were Takashi's, no doubt.

Allura leant back on her chair. That was… unexpected. Who would have thought that Takashi (sweet, shy, responsible Takashi) would become a pop star?

Should she wish him luck with his new career? She still had his email address and phone number. Well, the old ones. After High School, Allura went to University to study Law, and Takashi enlisted at the Garrison, yet they often exchanged emails and phone calls. Until he didn't answer anymore. Allura hadn't thought much about it at the moment, because she was focused on finishing her degree, and after that she never got around to try and contact him. It had been years since the last time she heard about him.

Well, his life wasn't her business now. She had a job as a lawyer she worked very hard for, whatever reason he had to forsake his dream of becoming a pilot for being a singer, it didn't matter to her. She was over him, and surely he had forgotten her anyway.

That didn't stop her from watching the music video that night at home so many times, by the next day she almost knew the lyrics by heart.

And it got worse.

Suddenly, his song was playing in every broadcast channel at almost every time, and everybody seemed to talk about it. It was especially bad when, Wednesday afternoon, Allura went grocery shopping and ran into two teenagers, listening to guess what song and giggling nonstop.

"This is the best song ever." One of them said.

"And Shiro's so hot!"

"Do you think there're photos of him shirtless?"

"I hope so! What a hunk…"

Allura got away from them before she lost control of the overwhelming need to punch both girls. How could they be so…? Ugh, she didn't even want to think about silly horny teenagers. Besides, the song wasn't even that good. In fact, she listened to it that night again, just to remind herself of how bad it actually was. Several times.

Next day, there was little work to do at the office, and Allura found herself absentmindedly looking through social media. Of course, she wasn't going to search for Takashi's, that would make her feel like an obsessed stalker. Then again, it was hard to ignore, since Shiro's song seemed to be trending topic. Maybe a quick look wouldn't be so bad, right?

Actually, even if there were hundreds of posts about how wonderful Shiro's music was, he wasn't very active on social media. She could only find the music video of _Starlight Princess_ , the date of release of his album, and the announcement that Shiro was going to be interviewed next Friday on a popular talk show.

Of course, she wasn't going to watch it.

Friday night, Allura came back home late, and she only wanted to change into her favourite pyjamas and lay on the couch, watching television. The fact that she ended up watching the same channel were Takashi was going to be interviewed was a mere coincidence.

Allura barely paid attention as the host welcomed Shiro. He looked… good. Very good. How could he look so good in just a shirt and black trousers? And a glove. She hadn't noticed it before, but also in the music video he was wearing a glove on his right hand, and he seemed to favour the left, which was weird because she remembered him being right handed.

The interview went on smoothly, Takashi being as sweet and polite as she remembered and the host making only professional questions, until…

" _So_ " The host grinned slyly. " _I've been looking through the songs' titles for your album. 'Alone in Space', 'Lost Angel', 'Cosmic dust'… To name a few. All of them seem quite depressing, right?_ "

Shiro chuckled bashfully.

" _Yeah, well, I guess I wrote them when I was going through a bad streak._ "

" _But 'Starlight Princess' is about a lost love. Tell me: Is it inspired in your own experience?_ "

Allura leant forward. She hadn't thought about it but, well, the fact that he had never been interested in _her_ didn't mean he had never been interested in _anyone_. On the screen, Takashi blushed.

" _Well, there was someone…_ "

The audience gasped. The host looked delighted with the exclusive. Allura felt a sudden rush of anger against this unknown person who dared to hurt Takashi's feelings. They had been friends, after all, and she still cared for him more than she would admit, even for herself. Also, she was sure she only felt anger. That was _not_ a bit of jealousy on the back of her head, nope, not at all.

Once the audience had calmed down, the host pushed for a more concrete answer.

" _So, you've been in love?_ "

Shiro's cheeks were now a deep crimson.

" _Yes._ "

" _Come on, tell us more, Shiro! Who was the lucky one?_ "

Shiro fidgeted, and for a second it seemed like he wasn't going to answer. He finally gave in.

" _It was a friend from High School. I've been in love with her for years, but she… She didn't love me back._ "

The audience let out a sympathetic 'Awww'. Allura pushed down the jealousy she _wasn't_ feeling to wonder who this friend could be. How weird. They had had the same friends at High School, and she would have noticed if Takashi had a crush on any of them.

" _How sad. Say, do you want to send her a message? What's her name?_ "

Shiro smiled, a soft light in his eyes.

" _Allura. Her name's Allura._ "

…

…

WHAT?!

Allura stared at the television, mouth wide open. Did Takashi just say he had been in love with _her_? Why? That couldn't be true, she had only been a friend to him! She was sure, she spent several nights crying for her unrequited crush as a teenager. And now he says…

The interview went on, the host trying to coax more information about that sad story of lost love out Shiro, and Shiro telling something about she friendzoning him and, and…

And Allura couldn't stand it anymore. She turned the television off and threw the remote control on the couch. It bounced off to the ground, but she was too upset to care. She stood up, opened a bottle of wine and served herself a glass. She gulped it down in one go and filled it again.

Why did he… How could he… How dared he! So many years without getting a single word from him and now he says _she_ turned him down? In live TV! The nerve of that guy!

Allura swallowed the wine, letting it burn her throat, a scarlet drop falling down her chin, and filled the glass again, leaving the now empty bottle on the counter. She was starting to get dizzy. She usually didn't drink, mostly only at social gatherings, and never on an empty stomach. But she was so mad… They were friends. Why didn't Takashi tell her how he felt?

Why didn't _she_ tell him?

Allura sat down. She was angry and sad and drunk and she wanted to rant to someone, but it was late and she didn't want to bother her father or her uncle with such a trivial matter. And she didn't have a friend close enough to call in the middle of the night to rant about how heartbroken she felt, not since…

She couldn't bear it anymore. Allura stood up and staggered to her desk, turning the computer on and opening her email account. She started to write, fast, angry, her rhythmical tipping filling the silence. Once she was done, she felt slightly better. Without thinking, she clicked on the address space and searched for Takashi's email. She hesitated for a second, mouse resting just above the 'send' button. She hadn't bothered to read the email to see what exactly she wrote, but the alcohol made her bold and, well, sure Shiro was now too busy doing celebrity stuff to take a look at his old email address, so…

She clicked 'send'.

Done. It was done. Now… Now she wanted to sleep. Feeling suddenly drained of all energy, she turned the computer off and crawled to bed, not bothering with brushing her teeth, barely remembering to turn the lights off, and fell asleep.

* * *

The doorbell woke her up.

At first, Allura buried her face in the pillow, cursing whoever invented that damned thing. When it was obvious that she wasn't going back to sleep, she looked at the alarm clock. It was well past eleven.

Allura stood up slowly, head throbbing and an awful taste in her mouth. She drank some water as the doorbell rang again.

"Okay, okay. I'm going."

She opened the door and froze.

There, standing in front of her apartment door, was none other than Takashi Shirogane himself, looking hot as hell in just a plain white t-shirt, dark jeans and a black leather jacket.

He sighed, as if he had been holding his breath, and smiled at her, soft and sweet.

"Hi."

Allura closed the door.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

What did just… How… Why was _him_ at her front door? Was she still dreaming? Yeah, it should be that, yes, sure, she was no doubt still asleep. There was no way in hell he found out where she lived and showed up at her door suddenly and just said 'hi'. She was just going back to bed and wait until this weird dream was over.

The doorbell rang again.

She was seriously starting to hate that thing.

Allura paced around the apartment. Should she open the door? Surely if she waited long enough he'll go away, right? But he already knew she was home so maybe he'll just stay there until she opened the door again… But he wouldn't do that, would he? He was quite stubborn when he wanted to… What should she do?

She stopped in front of a mirror and looked at herself. Her eyes were slightly red and her hair looked like it hadn't been brushed in a week. She was still wearing her pink, worn out, cosy pyjamas. Should she get dressed? It would only take a few minutes…

A soft knocking on the door brought her back to reality. Still better than the damned doorbell.

"Allura? Please, open. I… I'm sorry I showed up so suddenly. I just… I wanted to see you." There was a pause, Allura held her breath. "Look, I… I understand if you don't want to see me again. I'll just… I'll just leave, if you want me to."

Another pause, and she heard footsteps from the other side of the door. Something clicked inside of her, cold realization that she was letting a chance slip through her fingers again. Of what, she wasn't sure, but she ran to the door, letting it open as she leant out the stairs' handrail. She spotted Shiro, already on the floor below.

"Takashi, wait!"

He stopped and looked up, surprised. Allura hesitated.

"I think we should talk."

Shiro nodded, and climbed back up two steps at the time. Allura let him in and closed the door, avoiding eye contact.

"I'm sorry my apartment is so messy right now…"

"Please, don't apologize. It's my fault for not calling beforehand."

There was an awkward pause.

"So… How did you know where I live?"

Shiro rubbed his neck.

"I called Matt. He asked Rolo, who asked Nyma."

Of course it was Nyma who let it slip. Allura was going to give her a good talking.

"And why did you want to see me? Why now?"

"Well…" Shiro fidgeted with his mobile phone. Allura hadn't even noticed he had it in his hand. "I think I owe you an explanation. I mean, you were right, I should have contacted you sooner."

"What do you mean I was right?"

Shiro blinked, confused.

"You know, what you wrote in that email last night."

Okay, she remembered now. She had been a bit tipsy. What did she write again? Luckily, either Shiro read her mind or he wanted to prove he had a reason for being there, because he showed her his phone, said email already open:

 _What the fcuk is wrong wiht you? Noemails, no callls fro years, and mnow you og and tell evrybdy i dumped you? Teh fck is worng with you? how couldd you donthat? I thought we werer friends. I thought we wewere more. And thenyou disapppear and i didn't knonw anything abpout you anymore adn I thohught you forgot m,e. I lved you. Ad nwo you blame mme? Fuc k yuo and fukc your fuckign song!1!_

 _Allura_

She cringed. Okay, so she had been _very_ tipsy. And the self-correcting didn't work, not that she had noticed before because she usually didn't have such an awful spelling.

"Oh, that. I'm sorry, I might have gone a bit too far with that."

"No, you were right to be angry. I…" He looked down at his right hand, covered in a glove. It was just a second, and then their eyes met again. "Can we continue to talk over lunch? I'll invite you."

Allura wanted to press he matter, but let it go for now.

"Okay, but I have to get dressed first." She pointed at her pyjamas. Takashi smiled.

"Sure. How about we met again in an hour?"

Allura nodded. They decided where they would meet, and said goodbye. Allura stared at the closed door for a moment, before running to her bedroom to choose what she'll wear.

Fifty-seven minutes later, she arrived at a little restaurant near her home. Shiro was already there, waiting in front of the door, a cap covering his eyes. He smiled when he saw her, and Allura felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

After they had chosen what they would eat and the waiter had served their drinks, there was a short pause in which both stared intently at anything _but_ the other. Allura wondered how to restart the conversation from her apartment. Shiro beat her to it.

"Allura, I… I just want to tell you that I'm sorry. All those years, I wanted to see you again, but, but… I didn't know if you… You know, that happened and I was… ugh…"

He pinched the bridge of his nose, frustrated, skin tense and mangled were the scar ran, and she wondered what had happened to him.

"This was easier to say in my head." He muttered. Allura smiled, it was oddly reassuring that he felt as awkward as her.

"Why don't you start from the beginning? Why did you left the Garrison? I thought you wanted to be a pilot more than anything in the world."

She tried to sound casual. She didn't resent him for abandoning her, of course not, she just wanted to understand _why_.

Shiro gazed at his right hand, placed on the table between them.

"I didn't." He looked up at her. "I was discharged. I… There was an accident, during a test flight, and…" He rubbed his nose. Allura felt her heart clench. Then, on a sudden, almost angry movement, he took off his glove. Allura gasped. Beneath it, there was no flesh; only metal. "I lost my arm."

"Oh, Takashi, I'm so sorry…" She wanted to touch his hand, transmit him her support, but she didn't dare to. Shiro averted his gaze.

"You don't have to be sorry."

"But I didn't know… I don't even remember hearing anything on the news about that."

"The Garrison didn't want anyone to know. We… _They_ were close, so close to figure out how to send humans to deep space travels… Such an accident would have delayed a project hundreds of people have worked in for decades. They covered up the incident and offered to pay for my rehab. They even got me in a program to try a new, high functional prosthetic."

"That sounds a lot like a bribe."

"I know. But it was my only choice. I couldn't pilot anymore anyway, so taking their offer seemed like the best option to everyone."

"But why didn't you tell me? I thought… I thought you forgot me."

Then Shiro met her gaze, and there was something so sad in his eyes, so full of regret, Allura felt tears prickle the corner of hers.

"I didn't want you to see me like this. I… I was scared of how you'd react."

Now Allura reached out, taking both his hands in hers and squeezing softly, calloused flesh and hard metal against her soft skin. Shiro seemed surprised, but didn't pull away.

"Takashi, I always cared a lot for you. Never doubt that you have my support for anything you go through. I'm just relieved that you're alive and I'm so happy to see you again…"

She paused, unsure of how to continue. Both stared at their linked hands, quiet and unmoving until the waiter brought their food. Once they were alone again, Allura finally gathered the courage to ask the question that had been haunting her for the past days:

"There's something I still don't understand. How the hell did you become a pop star?"

Shiro chuckled, managing to lighten the mood.

"I wouldn't say I'm a pop star."

"Come on, Takashi, have you been around social media lately? Everyone is gushing about you. Well, about _Shiro_. I'm not even sure how to call you anymore."

He smiled.

"I like that you still call me Takashi."

Allura tried to not blush. She failed.

"Then, about this singing business…"

He ran a hand though his hair.

"I'm not even sure how I ended up on it. It just happened." He paused a second, mulling it over. "I think it was Keith's fault. Do you remember him?"

Allura nodded. Keith was Shiro's younger half-brother. He used to follow Takashi around like a lost puppy, until adolescence hit him hard and he became kind of a loner emo.

"He made a music group with his friends as a hobby. None of them were serious about it, but they would play in public sometimes. Just for fun and a bit of extra cash. After my rehab was over, Keith asked if I wanted to join them. I think he wanted to make sure I didn't spend too much time moping around. And my therapist said that it might be a good way to face my negative feelings after the accident. So I went to some rehearsals and soon I started to write my own songs. Then, after a concert at a little pub, I was approached by a guy who owned a music studio, and he offered to record some of my songs. I got a YouTube channel to post them, people liked them and things kind of got out of hand."

He let out a bashful laugh that Allura echoed.

"Well, I'm glad they did." She said. "We've been reunited because of it."

Shiro smiled at her, bright and unrestrained, and Allura felt as if time hadn't passed, and they were still teenagers, secretly in love with each other. Shyly, almost carefully, he held her hand, and she wished they could stay like that forever.

Takashi didn't seem to be on a rush either, because after lunch they went on a walk. Somehow time flew; they also had dinner together and Shiro took her home.

They lingered at the doorstep, neither willingly to part.

"It's been a good evening. I hope we can repeat it someday." Allura said. Shiro nodded.

"I would love to."

"Takashi…" Allura hesitated. There was one las question she needed to ask, but she feared the answer. "Is it true what you said on the interview? That you were in love with me?"

Shiro blushed, but didn't avoid her eyes.

"It is. It will always be." He paused, and grinned. "I'd ask you the same thing, but I'm not sure what exactly did you intended to write on that email."

Allura laughed. Her burst of anger was quite funny in hindsight. She took a step forward, holding his gaze.

"Well, if you'd asked, I'd have answered the same."

They were close. So close, she could feel the warm radiating from his body, his musky scent. Since when did he smell so good?

And then, their lips touched. Soft, pleasant, it was everything Allura had ever imagined, and more. Too soon, it was over. They looked at each other, smiling. Allura brushed his cheek, slim, dark fingers barely touching his strong jaw. She didn't remember the last time she felt so happy, so fulfilled, and she thought: Well, screw propriety.

She leant forward, lips brushing his ear, heart racing.

"Do you want to stay?"

There was a pause, and Allura held her breath. _Please say yes. I don't want to lose you again_.

"Yes, I do."

Allura gasped, and Shiro kissed her again, hungry, passionate. All doubts forsaken, she led him into her apartment.

* * *

Shiro was still there in the morning. In fact, he woke her up with breakfast already done. They spent all Sunday together, and Allura realized with amazement that her life had taken a radical turn in only one week, and it all started with a song.

The next days were the best Allura had in a while. Sadly, Shiro had to go on a promotional tour, but he promised to come back. He called her often, and they spent hours on the phone.

A few weeks later, she received an email from him, with a link to YouTube. It was a video on his official account, only an acoustic of his new single, _Lion Goddess_. It had a cheerful melody and upbeat lyrics, so different from his first songs. Nothing about lost love, nor loneliness, nor regret. Just a bright song about love full of hope.

Allura downloaded it immediately, and listened to it on repeat that night until she fell asleep, a warm feeling filling her heart. Somehow, she could sense Takashi right at her side.

She looked forward for being reunited with him again.


End file.
